White Lullaby
by Sadistic Author
Summary: (Sequel to Compass Rose!) It's been two years since Yuuma was forced to abandon his beloved ship, The Compass Rose. All is well, for the most-part, until one fatal morning when Piko comes to find that Yuuma has been abducted by his lifelong enemy, Hatsune Mikuo. Now, Piko must set out with a crew all his own in search of his husband, and to take down Mikuo once and for all!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer! I own none of Vocaloid, nor any of its characters. They belong to their respective owners.**

 **(A/N:** _Hello my lovely readers! First off, if you are starting to read this, and you haven't yet read_ _ **Compass Rose,**_ _you should go read Compass Rose_ _ **first**_ _! In other words,_ _ **This is the sequel to Compass Rose.**_ _If you don't read Compass first, you're unlikely to understand any of this. Leave now, for this prologue restates the ending of Compass Rose, and you wouldn't want to spoil the ending!_

 _Moving on now! I'm assuming you enjoyed Compass Rose if you're here on the sequel, and I'm glad that you did! I hope you enjoy the sequel- in fact, I have a good feeling that you will. Now, let's start the prologue!)_

 _ **-White Lullaby-  
-Prologue-  
**_

"Yuuma-!"

"Jump, Piko. Leave, now."

"Not without you! Jump with me, please, Yuuma!"

 _There was no way I would jump with him. My mother, an honorable captain unlike myself, left this ship to me. I swore to avenge her, and when I had the enemy right at the end of my gun, I couldn't even manage to pull the trigger. The least I could do in her honor was to go down with her ship._

 _But now the enemy ship's captain, the son of the bastard who killed Hiroshi, was striding toward me. He had somehow lived through and escaped a monstrous explosion, the flames still burning both behind him and on the shreds of his coat. He carried in his right hand his gun, while I had nothing to defend with. But I was okay with that, I deserved it. What I wasn't okay with was Piko being killed or captured by this man- yet I couldn't seem to get him to jump without me. What didn't he understand?_

"I love you, Piko."

 _I had said after sharing one last kiss with him. I could feel myself becoming weak and cold; even if Mikuo weren't aiming his gun at me, I'd be dead soon anyway. I had lost my left arm, and had an injury to my neck which didn't hit a vein large enough to kill me right away, but I was still bleeding at an alarming rate. I didn't want Piko to know, I wanted him to believe I was alright._

"Yuuma-!"

 _Everything moved in slow motion. My eyes moved away from Piko's as I felt them start to water. I wouldn't let him see me break in this moment. When I looked back to Mikuo, the man wore a crooked smirk. His thumb rested on the revolver's hammer and he started to pull it back. I had to get Piko out of there._

"I'm sorry." _I muttered to Piko as I swung my right arm, letting it connect with Piko's chest with all the strength I had left behind it. He'd transform as soon as he hit the water, I knew well, and he would be okay. He could swim to an island somewhere, to the nearby civilized land; he could live on without me._

 _I tried not breakdown as I heard Piko scream in despair. I kept my eyes locked on Mikuo and prepared myself for what was to come. I felt like I was falling just as I heard Mikuo's gun fire; I felt wind rushing around me and a cold mist on my skin; I felt the waves swallow me and pull me beneath their surface; but most of all, I felt confused._

 _Why, I wondered, could I recognize these things? Why was I still conscious? Why was I not dead?_

I felt a strange warmth around me and finally opened my eyes. They burned- and by now I couldn't tell if it was from the ocean or from my own tears- but focused on the black and white around me. Finally I saw blue and green stare at me through a black mask. I felt Piko's lips press against mine and the breath I didn't have time to catch enter my lungs.

 _And then I felt water rushing around me, I could hear the sound of the waves splitting to make way for us. I felt cold, but I felt safe. I heard Piko's voice and slowly wrapped my arm around him._

 _As we sped away from Rose, as my mother had named her, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. The bright flames engulfing her and her bow pointing to the stars as she was slowly dragged into the waves. I felt guilty- cowardly- like I was betraying my late mother. I felt sick and disgusted, but I mostly felt tired. I pried my eyes away from Rose and laid my head against Piko's shoulder, closing my eyes and releasing the breath he'd given me._

 **(A/N:** _And there it is, the prologue! Clearly Yuuma's point of view of Compass Rose's epilogue! Tell me what you think! Review and Follow this story so you can keep up with updates! Next chapter is "Nighttime Terrors and Daytime Dreams," so stick around and I'll see you there! Until then, stay beautiful, and welcome aboard!)_


	2. Nighttime Terrors

**Disclaimer! I own none of Vocaloid, or any of its characters. They belong to their respective owners.**

 **(A/N:** _Hello, hello, my lovely readers~! Okay so first things first; that ending to the prologue flew right over my sister's head, so I'm just hoping you guys caught it. If not, well you'll catch more of it in the chapter after this one. Now this chapter is a little slow, but it's got a lot of information about their relationship, what they've been doing in the past two years, and some other stuff. I tried to make it enjoyably informational. Alrighty I think that's all for now… On to Chapter One: Nighttime Terrors! Enjoy!_ _ **)**_

 **-** _ **White Lullaby**_ **-**

 **-Nighttime Terrors-**

Yuuma escaped his captivating slumber with a frightened gasp, his hand grasping at his chest as he sat up in the bed, breathing heavily as he became one with reality again. He gave an audible sigh, shaking his head in shame toward himself. It had been two years since then; why must his unconscious mind force him to relive the trauma of that day?

Piko gave a tired moan and blindly patted around for Yuuma's hand. He hadn't bothered opening his eyes; he knew what was going on. For now he simply hoped he could calm Yuuma down and get back to sleep.

Yuuma noticed Piko's movement and gently placed his hand in Piko's, slowly lying down again next to his partner.

There was a moment of silence while Yuuma fiddled with the ring on Piko's fourth finger and Piko reluctantly opened his eyes.

"As usual?" Piko asked with a soft voice. He knew already; this happened at least twice a week.

"As usual," Yuuma confirmed, frowning slightly. Piko moved a bit closer to him and groggily pulled Yuuma's head to his chest- for the moment not worrying about breaking his neck or causing him discomfort. Yuuma inched himself a bit lower than Piko so that he wouldn't be bent awkwardly to lie this way. He threw his arm over the male's waist and started to relax as he felt Piko's fingers toying with his hair.

"You're okay now," Piko reminded him, pressing tender kisses to the top of Yuuma's head. _That's right,_ Yuuma thought with his eyes closed. _Everything is fine now._

And it was- that much was true. They had traveled from the island they had seen that day to another one nearby and found a nice enough house to live in. It was small, but accommodated the two perfectly well. It had only one bedroom, but that was, of course, all they needed. Aside from the bedroom there was a large sitting room, which they had divided- most of the room being used as an actual sitting room, a section used as a dining area, and the remainder had become a kitchen.

Their little cottage- of sorts- was just out of reach of the ocean's waves. From their door they could see the beautiful ocean, and the magnificent ship they'd been working on since only a month after they settled here. Both had decided that life here was nice, but they would still prefer to be on the sea rather than next to it.

This ship was grand in size (yet smaller than Rose was) but unlike the open design of a pirate ship this ship was more closed in, with less deck-space. Such was to protect their furnishings from erosion from the salty waves.

There was a very large bedroom, which would soon have double doors, for Yuuma and Piko. There was also a great living room, which would be furnished as such, and a large kitchen. They had a dining area as well. All of this was closed in a single structure, with doorways and walls sectioning off each room. On the top of this structure was where the ship's wheel was located, accessible by a spiraling stairway, which Piko adored. There was something about the elegant structure of it that captivated him, and he felt that perhaps it were because he'd yet to have seen so much of the human world, including spiraled staircases.

There was of course the mast, set just behind the on-deck building. They still needed to attach the sails to it. Below the deck was plenty of storage space, ready to be filled with everything they would need to set off for a few months' time, if not a year. There were also a few canons and other weapons, ammunition included. Pirating and battling was not their intention, but they loaded these things as just a precaution.

There was the deck, where they would bolt down benches and tables just to fill some of the space, and to utilize if they chose to sit out nearer to the waters. A staircase was built into the side of the ship, an unusual adjustment Yuuma had made so that Piko would be able to leave the water without jumping onto the side of the ship.

The banisters were high and well sculpted, with one section that swung on a hinge near the staircase.

Overall, the ship was the most beautiful thing either of them had seen. Not because of its physical appearance, but because of the fact that this would be there new home and they had built it together, working long days and nights on its structure.

Piko sang softly, a familiar tune to him. It was the lullaby he'd sung to Taito the day he was captured- the lullaby that was intended to lead Taito to his death.

But now, this white lullaby had no deadly intentions. He used it simply in a hypnotic sense, knowing that this use of his voice would put Yuuma into a trance, as it would anyone else. As long as he sang, his voice would be the only thing Yuuma could focus on- and that meant he couldn't overthink about the events of that day with Mikuo.

He continued singing until he felt Yuuma's pulse slowing, his breaths evening out and his body relaxing. It was as if he'd fallen asleep, though he was in fact still awake. He was simply fixed on the sound of Piko's song and melting into its harmony.

Piko let a minute or two of silence pass before he finally sat up, Yuuma following his lead. Piko smiled softly and kissed his husband's cheek, then the side of his neck, then his right collar bone. Just at the end of the extensive scar on the right of Yuuma's neck- just above his collar bone- there was a raised, oddly shaped patch. Visible just beneath Yuuma's skin was a jet black scale, one that had come from Piko's submerged body. Such was Yuuma's link to Piko, just like the ring on Piko's finger that linked him to Yuuma.

Yumma gave a weak smile and stretched his back, sighing tiredly. He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, the sun was already starting to peak over the waters.

"Are you okay now?" Piko asked softly, worriedly.

"I will be, yes.." Yuuma mumbled in response, standing and locating his shirt. Piko watched him for a minute, then decided to speak again.

"Do you want to work on the ship today?"

Yuuma groaned a bit and looked out at the ship. "Not really…"

"I think we should. It's almost done." That wasn't Piko's only reason. He also felt that getting back out on the ocean would be good for Yuuma. It was where he was born and raised, and where he belonged.

"Hm.. Maybe just move things around. I don't want to do much, I'm tired."

Piko had to agree with this- they'd been working hard lately. "Let's just move the furniture and doors and things onto it, and we'll deal with rearranging things tomorrow."

"Yeah, that works." Yuuma nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Maybe buy some supplies too?" Piko pushed, brushing his hair out of his face. Yuuma replied with a reluctant groan. "Okay, okay- just furniture today, then," Piko quickly defended, putting his hands out how one would when trying to reason with a growling dog.

After a couple hours the two were on the ship, along with the furniture they needed. Piko walked around, observing all the work they'd done over the year. He found his way back to Yuuma, who was bringing chairs into the dining area. Piko took a chair in each arm and brought them to where they needed to be.

Once they were all in the dining room, Piko found himself frantically scampering after Yuuma. It seemed impossible to get him to stop moving. When he caught up he wrapped his arms around him from behind, hugging him tightly and forcing him to stop. Yuuma turned and put his arm around Piko, his hand tangled in the siren's hair. Piko sighed and nuzzled Yuuma's chest.

"You know," he started softly, looking up at his husband. "This ship- it's really big."

"Yeah," Yuuma muttered, glancing around. "I think it's turned out nice."

"I think so too," Piko agreed. "I just still think it's _really_ big. We've got enough room for at least one more person to come with us, if we wanted." He gave a nervous laugh, glancing away.

"If we wanted," Yuuma repeated. "But I think it'll be fine with just us two." Piko sighed and slumped against Yuuma, breaking their embrace and looking around.

"I'm gonna go bring the blankets and stuff for the bedroom," He mumbled, starting off in the other direction.

Once Piko left the room, Yuuma fell into one of the wooden chairs and sighed. His hand combed through his hair as he thought over Piko's words. He knew what his husband had been hinting at, but really, Yuuma wasn't sure it would work out.

For one- he didn't find it possible to just take a kid who's been on land its whole life, put them on a ship, and expect them not to get bored of it.

Another thing- a normal child from the local orphanage adopted by a used-to-be pirate with a missing arm and a 'person' from the darker depths of the Atlantic Ocean? There was no way that could turn out well.

And even if there weren't these details, there was one that was clear. They were a homosexual couple- it wasn't exactly accepted by the church-based orphanage, surely the kids there have been raised and taught to think the same.

Yuuma straightened a few things up before leaving the ship, walking the short distance to the house. Inside he found Piko re-folding the extra blankets they'd stored under the bed. He put his arm around Piko and waited for him to put the blanket down before meeting him with a kiss. It was slow and calm- much unlike the frantic, erratic kisses they had shared years ago. It lasted just long enough for Piko to curiously open his eyes, looking over what he could see of Yuuma's face and then breaking the kiss.

"You look stressed," Piko commented, referring to the little lines between Yuuma's furrowed eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Yuuma assured as he grabbed a blanket off the floor and started to fold it- which proved to be a little difficult with one hand, but over the past two years he'd learned how to do things like this. "I'm just tired."

"You don't look stressed when you're tired, you look tired." Piko said simply. "Now what's wrong?"

Yuuma kept silent long enough to finish folding the blanket, then finally responded. "I'm just over-thinking things." Piko frowned at the sound of this. He knew 'things' could range anywhere from 'is there enough ammunition on the ship' to 'where would Piko be if Mikuo had killed me that day'.

"What kind of 'things'?" Piko asked, returning to his chores as casually as possible.

"Things like you- your age, how much longer you're going to live," Yuuma said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

"Yuuma-"

"No, I'm being serious." He said, moving the stack of folded blankets so he could sit on the bed. "How old are you?"

"Something around one-eighty," Piko muttered. "I think about one-seventy-six… Why does that matter?"

"Because that's already a lot longer than a human will ever live." Yuuma replied. "How old do sirens live to be?"

"I don't know for sure, I was never around them." Piko admitted. "A mermaid- my old teacher- told me they probably live about four-hundred or five-hundred years. But she didn't know for sure."

"See humans live until about fifty or sixty," Yuuma explained. "What are you supposed to do when I'm gone? I don't want you to just watch me die with nothing you can do about it."

"I'd rather not think about that right now." Piko said stiffly, adding his blanket to the pile and sitting down. "What brought that up, anyway?"

"Because you're still like a kid. I don't want you alone- you'll be what, in thirty years, twenty-five?"

"Two-ten; twenty-one..." Piko answered dully.

"You'd have another two-hundred sixty-something years left to you- what are you going to do with them?"

"I don't know yet, Yuuma!" Piko snapped, standing up again. "Please, drop this subject for a while. I don't want to think about losing you a-…" He caught himself, exempting the last word he was thoughtlessly tempted to add. He sighed and started over, thinking about his words this time. "I don't want to think about losing you.. I don't want to be alone- I don't want to be _without you_."

"I'm sorry," Yuuma said quietly, standing and placing his hand on Piko's cheek. "Try to forget I said any of that," he whispered as he kissed Piko's forehead, trying to calm him down. Piko had tears in his eyes, which soon dripped down his cheeks, but he withstood the pain in his chest and his throat and avoided having a bit of a meltdown.

"It's alright." He muttered as Yuuma dried Piko's cheeks. "It _is_ something I should consider, after all- just, not right now."

The two fell silent, with Piko lazily hugging Yuuma and Yuuma returning the embrace. After a moment, Piko sighed and shrugged Yuuma's arm off his shoulders so that he could gather the folded blankets.

"Let's take this stuff to the ship and get on with the rest of the day," He suggested, seeing as it was only around noon. Yuuma agreed and gathered the pillows, pinning some between the remaining fraction of his left arm and his body as not to drop them, and wrapping his right arm around the rest of them.

The two carried the small loads to the ship, dumping them off in the bedroom and storing them away in a chest. Piko smiled as Yuuma closed the chest and they headed back toward the house, talking about this or that on the way.

All that was left in the house was the walls, and the doors, and their clothes, and their bed with just the blanket they shared and each of their pillows. Piko gave a small smile. They were almost done- soon they would set out to see the rest of the world.

"Do you think this one's a little short?" Piko asked, chasing himself in circles as he tried to observe the skirt he was wearing. It was more common for him to wear skirts and dresses now than anything. It wasn't that he was into cross-dressing. These clothes just made it easier for him to hop in the water- without trying to pull off pants that tugged and often ripped out his scales- and back out without having to cover himself.

"For town, maybe," Yuuma said, looking over Piko's outfit. "If you're just here it should be fine- but if a breeze passes everyone's gonna catch a glance at your ass." He laughed a bit, imagining how Piko would panic if something like that happened. Piko also gave a nervous giggle.

"That'd be embarrassing- but it's so weird, I was just thinking about before I met you." He started, straightening out the skirt and tugging it down a little. "I can't stand for people to see me- but out in the ocean no one cared. Nudity was a social norm there, covering things up was considered weird." He laughed a bit, sitting on the floor and looking up at Yuuma, who was leaning against the wall.

"You were covered on that island," Yuuma recalled, raising a brow.

"It was more of an accessory. Anything I found that I liked I either wore or used it to decorate that stone wall." Piko scratched at the back of his head, looking around. Yuuma had nothing else to really say.

Lately it seemed as though there were more silences between them than there were conversations. Piko both loved them and despised them.

He treasured them because it meant they were comfortable, content with one another. They weren't awkward silences of wondering what they can and can't say in the moment, or nervous silences of wondering whether the other was annoyed. They were comfortable exchanges of endearing glances or little half-smiles or sometimes a goofy expression with crossed eyes and pursed lips.

But he also loathed the seconds, sometimes minutes that would pass without an exchange of words, because he had a good feeling that he knew where Yuuma's mind was at those times. His conscience was trapped in the past, constantly reminding Yuuma of _that_ day. Piko knew part of it was his fault- he knew he was part of the reason that Yuuma had to suffer endlessly reliving _that_ day. A frantic lullaby he'd sang desperately through choked sobs and floods of tears to relieve his own pain- it would cause Yuuma pain for who knew how long?

He couldn't apologize enough- in fact, he couldn't apologize at all. Yuuma's mind, his body, his ears had never heard the song.

"Wanna go down to the shore?" Piko asked hopefully, trying to break Yuuma's thoughts.

"I don't feel like swimming- and it's going to rain." Yuuma muttered, glancing out the door and up at the sky.

"We don't have to swim," Piko insisted. "Just watch the waves, get our feet wet maybe… We can come back when it starts to rain."

Yuuma thought on it for a moment, trying to focus on the idea rather than the visual in the back of his mind. Meanwhile, Piko grabbed the mostly empty barrel next to the door and pushed it outside to catch rainwater to use for washing up and cooking. He came back inside and looked up at Yuuma, waiting for his answer.

"Alright, alright," He said, pushing himself off the wall. Piko grinned and seized Yuuma's hand, squeezing it tightly and tugging him toward the door. "Not swimming, though."

"That's fine!" Piko said happily. Really he just wanted to get Yuuma out of the house, and he knew the stretch of markets a short walk away would be nearly impossible. Yuuma didn't really like being around people who seemed to stare at him incessantly. "Just come on!"

Yuuma rolled his eyes and followed Piko out the door. He didn't really have a choice if he wanted to keep his arm- if he didn't follow, Piko would probably pull it right off of Yuuma's body.

Moments later the two were seated in the warm sand- Piko sitting between Yuuma's legs, his back against Yuuma's chest- and alternating between looking at the waves and looking up at Yuuma. He laid his head on his mate's shoulder and watched various expressions play across his face. He was 'thinking' again, Piko noted and gave a small frown.

He focused on playfully wrapping his legs around Yuuma's before the waves stretched far enough to wet Piko's ankles, his feet briefly transforming into a transparent fin a little different from its usual grey-silver color- considering it was mid transition before the water returned to its greater mass. For a moment Yuuma's leg was trapped between Pikos- since of course the fin was one piece locking Piko's ankles together. Piko giggled while Yuuma gave a little 'huff' through his nose to substitute a laugh and tightened his arm around Piko.

Once his fin was a pair of feet again, Piko set Yuuma's leg free and buried his toes in the sand. He sighed quietly and watched the waves, knowing how eager they both were to be sailing on them again.

"It's kind of relaxing," Piko mumbled, glancing up at Yuuma. The (physically) older male looked down at his albino lover, breaking his focus away from the waves and what had happened among them in the past.

"Yeah... I guess it is," He agreed hesitantly.

"We'll be there soon," Piko tried to encourage- attempting to get his hopes up and maybe change his mood. He didn't get a response. "You still tired…?" He asked, his tone changing.

Yuuma nodded, not bothering to open his mouth. Piko sighed and looked down at the patches of scales working their way up his legs as the wave grew more intense. "You know," He started. "It's pretty quiet between us, lately."

"Everything we do we do together- there's nothing for me to talk about that you don't already know." Yuuma answered rather bluntly.

"Well I don't know what happens in your mind. I don't know what you're thinking about all the time or how you even feel about setting out again." Piko frowned, readjusting his position so that he could look Yuuma in the eyes as he spoke. "I mean sure, we were both eager before- you were enthusiastic and determined to get the ship finished so we can leave. Now we're almost done with it and you don't seem interested anymore."

"I told you, I'm just thinking over things."

"Like what- tell me everything that's going on in your mind right now." The siren pushed, leaning back on his hands.

"For one, I'm thinking about what happens if we run into Mikuo again," Yuuma started for the top of his oncoming list.

"We _won't_ ," Piko ensured. "He would've been pulled under by Rose- he would have drowned. He's dead, Yuuma. Okay?"

"If you say so. Two," he continued. "I'm thinking about what happens if we get out there and in another few years I die."

"I'll just have to see the rest of the world for you." Piko said softly. "I'll try not to get too upset because your whole family has gone to their next lives. Fate would have it that you'll see them again. And fate would have it that we meet again. By the time you're reborn and grown into an adult I might only be two hundred and fifty- that's twenty-five." He sighed; thinking about waiting for Yuuma so desperately had him on the verge of tears. "We'll meet again. Now, what else?"

"We get out there, you're bound to run into other sirens-"

"I will _not_ leave your side. And I mean that." Piko said sharply, cutting him off. "I was willing to die for you, to kill for you- don't you dare think that anything has changed between then and now." He pressed a small kiss to his mark under Yuuma's skin, grasping Yuuma's hand with his left to remind him of the ring he wore. "I'm yours, and you're mine. Nothing will come between this."

There was a pause and Piko stood, running a hand through his white hair as the ocean's breeze flowed through it. He felt a few drops of rain bursting against his skin and turned to look at Yuuma. "Anything else?" He asked softly.

"Not right now," Yuuma mumbled, standing and again subconsciously stroking his collar. "Let's go before it starts pouring." Piko nodded in agreement and took Yuuma's hand, starting back toward the house.

When they returned, Yuuma stretched out on the bed, tired from waking up so early that morning. Piko laid next to him, tossing his leg over Yuuma's waist and wrapping his arms around his mate's neck, serving as a lazy hug.

Yuuma's arm wrapped around Piko's waist and his leg wedged between Piko's. He pecked Piko's lips and they both smiled slightly.

Though they had originally planned to rise in a few minutes to do whatever else needed to be done that day, they both fell asleep, tangled with each other and listening to the rain and the waves.

 **(A/N:** _Alrighty so here it is, chapter one. Like I said it's a little slow- I tried to make it a little enjoyable… Next chapter is going to include at least two, detailed flashbacks that are a bit important to the rest of the story. After that, the big plot starts. Stick around! Love you!_ **)**


	3. Daytime Dreaming

**Disclaimer! I own none of Vocaloid, or any of its characters. They belong to their respective owners.**

 **(A/N:** _Hey guys~! First off, my computer broke so I'm typing from a tablet that runs very poorly. I'm sorry for typos I don't catch from here on out. This chapter is probably going to be far too detailed! I've been looking forward to typing this exact chapter since before I planned White Lullaby, in fact,i the two big flashbacks in this chapter were actually going to be one-shot spin-offs from Compass Rose! Plenty to learn about what's happened over the past two years in this, so let's get started!_

ALSO; I reviewed on this story as 'SADISTIC AUTHOR' so if you want explanation on the delays, you'll find it in the reviews.

 **)**

 **-** _ **White Lullaby-**_

 _ **-Daytime Dreaming-**_

Piko groaned softly, stretching and covering his eyes as the sliver of sunlight piercing through the curtains fell across his face. He waited a second to come to his senses, then peeked his eyes open, looking over his husband's sleeping face. He smiled, satisfied with the fact that Yuuma had slept through the night. It must've been around nine-o'clock. He looked up at him, wondering if he should wake him up or let him sleep. He decided to let him rest for as long as he would, after all, it'd been awhile since either of them got decent sleep. Piko also decided that perhaps he would go back to sleep for an hour or two as well.

However, shortly after he closed his eyes, he was overtaken by unpleasant memories which, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't forget.

 _He was gone, his breathing and his pulse halted and his skin ice cold. He'd lost too much blood, but despite the tears in his eyes Piko refused stop. He continued at full speed toward the distant island. When he arrived he hauled himself and Yuuma onto the sand, just out of reach of the large crashing waves. He laid Yuuma down and curled his half-legs-half-tail under him so he could look down at him._

" _No- oh, god, please- no," Piko muttered, a shaking hand brushing Yuuma's wet hair out of his face. Sometime along their high-speed swim, the thread of nervous cords and flesh between Yuuma's forearm and the half he'd have lost anyway weakened and snapped. The siren quickly removed Yuuma's bloodied tailcoat and shirt, patting at his chest in search of a pulse. There was nothing. He felt empty already, lost and confused as to what he should do now. He could revive him, but he remembered just minutes prior that Yuuma had asked him not to revive him if he died. He laid on his captain's chest, sobbing pathetically. Who was he to defy Yuuma's near-dying request?_

" _Please don't leave me here alone," He begged, tears pouring down his cheeks. "Please, Yuuma," He pushed desperately, sitting up and shaking him gently. He cried a bit harder, his head falling back and directing his powerful cries at the night sky. Perhaps what tore him down the most was the simple fact that he could easily bring Yuuma back- he could have him again, alive- but Yuuma hadn't wanted that. Internally he fought himself, unsure of what to do in the moment._

 _Finally he decided that regardless of Yuuma's request, Piko needed his lover alive and by his side. He lifted Yuuma into a sitting position, to where he could hold his pink-haired head against his chest, and rested his other hand on Yuuma's chest._

 _ **Sleep now as you must**_

 _ **Though when the sun does rise,**_

 _ **Despite all of your pain and woes,**_

 _ **Open up your eyes.**_

 _His voice cracked pitifully and he struggled to keep it steady. Without the perfect arrangement of notes and keys and octaves, he knew the lullaby wouldn't work._ _ **  
**_

 _ **Sleep now as you must,**_

 _ **Cradled in the arms darkness,**_

 _ **Though when you awake you'll find**_

 _ **New warmth in life's caress.**_

 _He trembled more now than ever, his hand seeming to be set on vibrate as he tried to stroke Yuuma's hair. He wasn't sure how this lullaby worked, he'd only used it once before. He'd used it on Taito, and he wasn't quite dead yet when he did._ _ **  
**_

 _ **Sleep now as you must,**_

 _ **Let your soul roam free,**_

 _ **O, but when the morning comes,**_

 _ **Once again, return to me.**_

 _As minutes passed painfully slowly, he worried that the song wouldn't work if the person to be healed was already dead. He began to sob once again, holding Yuuma even closer and tighter, oblivious to the miraculous reaction surging through Yuuma's body._

The process moved from the outside, in. It started with the wounds and injuries, turning them to scars first, then moved into Yuuma's muscles, mending them again. It went from there to his veins, multiplying his blood cells to regenerate what he'd lost. Then, from his veins to his brain, sparking it back to life so it could tell his heart to beat and his lungs to breath, and the rest of his being to work properly again.

 _Yuuma gasped and quickly opened his eyes, catching Piko's attention. Yuuma wasn't sure how to react. He didn't know where he was, or what had happened- or what was going to happen, for that matter. After a moment of regathering his senses, Yuuma looked around, then up at Piko._

" _Are you okay?" Piko asked tentatively, releasing Yuuma so he could move._

" _I'm.. Did I die?" He asked. Piko quickly responded._

" _No, no," He lied- he decided that Yuuma mustn't know. "You were unconscious. You held your breath for too long under water. Do you feel alright?"_

" _I feel a lot better than I expected to feel after losing a limb, and almost being decapitated, and nearly being shot and killed twice. I can't believe I'm alive."_

" _... Neither can I."_

Piko sighed and sat up, deciding he couldn't go back to sleep with these things on his mind. He lightly shook Yuuma's shoulder.

"Hey," he whispered, trying not to startle him. Yuuma cracked open his eyes and hummed in response. "I'm gonna go into town and buy some food, alright?" He smiled. Yuuma, still tired, waved him off- so Piko took his leave. He carried a basket with him to hold whatever he bought.

Soon enough he was in the little market square of the island village, greeting the smiling faces. He knew that sometimes, when he turned his back, these people would snicker and speak poorly of him and Yuuma, but he paid it no mind so long as they were kind enough to his face.

Piko first walked up to a fruit vender. Being on an ocean-side village, there wasn't much to offer aside from fish and seaweed for cooking with. He could gather those on his own for no price at all, sometimes snacking on minnows as he did- but that was his own little secret. He hated to admit it, but either he was too used to raw meals to suddenly accustom to cooked- or Yuuma was a terrible cook. He'd never know because he didn't dare touch fire to cook for himself, or go near it for the fact. Not after that incident with the torch years ago- or the incident with sparking a barrel of gunpowder. Water and fire just didn't mix.

After paying for the fruits and thanking the vender, Piko walked blindly around, his mind on his experience with Yuuma's death. He wasn't paying a bit of attention and bumped into somebody passing by.

"Oh! Excuse me, I'm sorry I was just- aghh," he knelt down, picking up the apples and pears that had spilled from his basket. The other man picked up a few of the stray fruits and handed them to Piko, his hand covered by a black leather glove. "Thank…. You..?"

Piko glanced up to see the man's face, but he was already walking away. He shook his head, finding it a bit rude but remembering that he had just clumsily ran into the stranger. He sighed and stood up, dusting off his pants and glancing behind him at the person. He shrugged his shoulders and continued walking- eyes forward this time.

Piko followed his nose to a little bread shop, smiling at the sweet aroma. He greeted the woman behind the counter with a wave of his fingers, stepping inside.

"Do you have any sweets made?" He asked softly, looking around.

"I just made some muffins," she smiled. "They're banana muffins with chocolate chips."

"That'll do perfectly," Piko decided, reaching for the bag of coins tied at his hip.

"How many do you need?" The shopowner asked, grabbing a box to put them in. Piko abandoned the purse and started mumbling to himself, counting on his fingers as he did. Finally he paused, recounted a bit quicker than before, and decided upon his answer.

"Two dozen should be enough," he said simply, earning a small smile from the lady behind the counter.

"Is it really Wednesday again already?" She asked, smiling as she gathered the appropriate number of muffins and placed them in the box. Piko only laughed softly and reached for his money again.

They exchanged a bit of small talk after Piko paid for the pastries. Soon enough he took his leave and headed along his usual path.

Within a few minutes Piko arrived at the small "Children's Home," as the mother and sisters preferred it to be called. He never understood the relationship between the women- surely they couldn't all be akin to one another, yet they called each other their sisters. Yuuma had tried to explain it to him once before, but it still didn't make much sense. Piko figured they were similar to a pack, combined with the fact that mers often called each other 'cousin' despite not being related at all.

He stepped up to the door, hearing the squeals and rushed footsteps of young children, chasing each other to and fro. He smiled, giving a quiet sigh before knocking on the door. The running slowed to a halt and big eyes peered through the window on the door, the child bouncing in and out of Piko's view to get a good at whoever was knocking. After about the fourth springy jump, she was shooed away by the middle aged woman they called 'Mother Dianna'. She smiled at Piko through the window as she unlocked the door, opening it on a small crack to prevent children from running out.

"Good morning," Piko greeted with a smile, glancing down at the little girl from before, who was wiggling her fingers at him. He returned the childlike wave and redirected his attention to Mother Dianna. "I hope you don't mind it, but I brought the off- ah- _children_ some muffins." He wasn't sure what threw him off- he had drawn the line between 'offspring' and 'children' a long time ago. Perhaps he was just under pressure from Mother Dianna's glare, hidden behind a forced smile. He knew well that the nuns didn't exactly favor him, particularly because of his marriage.

But who else bothered to show the kids attention and affection? No one as far as he could tell. Besides, he wasn't here to visit or please the nuns. He was here to visit the children and bring them breakfast as he had every Wednesday since he found out about the orphanage.

"Please, do come in." Mother Dianna said slowly, through her teeth as far as Piko could tell. Nevertheless Piko walked through the door, children immediately seizing him.

Some wrapped around his legs, giggling as Piko continued to walk with them hitchhiking along. Others bounced as they followed, asking him random questions or babbling with bizarre stories. One child lifted the lid of the basket and smiled as he smelled the warm muffins; another took his hand, holding tightly and walking next to him as she described how she'd missed him (even though he had visited just a few days ago- Sunday, to be exact).

Finally one of the nuns got the children settles around the table and Piko handed out the muffins. As he handed one little boy his muffin, the boy looked up with a conflicted expression.

"Is your boat almost done?" He asked sadly, and all the other children looked to Piko, awaiting his answer.

Piko sighed sympathetically and cupped the child's cheek. "Almost," he answered quietly. "We've just got to anchor down the furniture and attach the sails. And the doors need to be installed."

Children's eyes puddled and looked down. There was a moment of silence, and Piko felt terrible. He often reminded the children that he wasn't here permanently, that he and Yuuma would be setting sail as soon as the ship was finished, but the kids hadn't seemed to understand what he meant by that until Piko's long, everyday visits had faded to short stop-bys on Wednesday mornings and an hour or two on Sunday afternoons.

"Can I come with you?" One child asked tentatively. Instantly every other child chimed in. Piko answered as he continued around the table, passing out muffins.

"I'll see what I can do, but I definitely can't take all of you." He said in defeat. He was hit with the sudden dread of having to choose one of the kids over the others. He'd never be able to do that. "But I promise I'll come back often and see you all." He smiled and handed a muffin to the last child, noticing he had a few muffins left. Troubled, he pointed to each child while counting under his breath.

"Max and Mavis found new homes," Sister Madeline informed, saving Piko from having to do the math in his head. He frowned- he was, of course, glad that they were adopted, but he was upset that he wouldn't see the set of twins as often.

"That's great," he said softly. "Nearby? Maybe I could go-"

"No, no," Madeline smiled. "It was a family from somewhere in Europe. They've been sailing and were making their way back home. They stopped here to stock up on food and supplies, and came across our Home while looking around."

Piko nodded in understanding and closed his basket, setting it on the table and wondering if the family was really a family, or if they were pirates recruiting deck-scrubbers and kitchen staff from a young age. What a life. Then again, he'd done the same on Yuuma's ship and came to enjoy it. Taito always made things more entertaining.

Taito…

Piko sighed and shook his head. It was just some foolish paranoia, he knew. And what had caused him to suddenly miss Taito? Well, that he didn't know.

"I've really gotta get going, we have to work on the ship today," he said in a rushed voice. Like the splitting of the Red Sea, the line of children separated right in the middle and came pouring from each end of the table. Within seconds, all twenty-one kids were piled around Piko, hugging him.

"You'll be back again after today, right?" Asked the little girl from before, who had held Piko's hand on the way to the dining room.

"Of course," Piko smiled, stroking her hair.

"Promise?" Pressed another child, a boy somewhere to Piko's left. He scanned for the source of the voice and quickly located him.

"I promise."

"Now you shouldn't hold him back," Mother Dianna announced, and the crowd of children slowly peeled away from Piko's legs. "He and his… _spouse_ are waiting to get to work. Tell him goodbye, and then go finish your muffins."

The children chimed in with farewells and faded away into the kitchen.

"Oh, Mother Dianna," Piko said as she walked him out. "You don't suppose any of the children in particular would be more comfortable at sea than the others, do you?" He asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure that you know this, but a pair of gypsy parents on a mediocre ship does not make a home for a child."

"We're not gypsies!" Piko barked. "And our ship isn't 'mediocre'- in fact I'm sure it tops most of the ships out there by a landslide. How are you to know that the family who took Max and Mavis were actually going back to Europe? Maybe they live at s-"

"That would be enough. Good day." The nun practically shoved Piko through the door, along with his basket, then closed and locked the door behind him. Piko growled, irritated, then started home, kicking stones along the way.

He was easing his way down the sloped dirt path that lead to their humble abode when some rustling and other noises put him on edge. He let his heels off the ground, causing himself to slide on his toes quickly to the bottom of the slope. He held his hip and walked backward, scanning his path for anything in ordinary. Then, behind him, he heard breathing. He whipped around, drawing a cocked and loaded gun mid-turn and aiming at the first thing he saw.

"Yuuma!" Piko snapped, putting the gun away and holding his chest. "You nearly gave me a heart-attack you bih-nana muffins. Just bought some, thought you might want breakfast." he reached into his basket.

Yuuma laughed. "You were about to say 'bitch', weren't you?" He rolled his eyes. "If you're gonna be a 'sailor' you'd might as well start cursing like one."

Piko froze as he heard rustling in the leaves again. He glanced toward the bushes, disregarding Yuuma as he took a muffin from the basket. "Didn't you hear that?" Piko asked, hoping his little 'chip' in Yuuma's chest came with some benefits.

"I just hear waves and your trust issues," Yuuma joked, as if he didn't have a lack of 'trust' himself. He noticed how tense Piko was. "I was just kidding, Piko…" he mumbled.

Suddenly a squirrel ran across the path, and Piko's gun was out again. He sighed when he realized what it was and tucked the gun away, seizing a muffin to hopefully eat his stress away. Yuuma held his muffin in his hand, which cause him to have to use his wrist to rub Piko's back. "First me," he muttered, "then the squirrel. Maybe you should leave the gun home so you don't shoot any holes in the sail."

"Sail? You got the sail?"

"I was heading to that supply shop to get one." Yuuma answered. "Why don't you go drop off the basket and the gun, and come with me?"

Piko nodded and sprinted to the house.

Now, really, you think a guy would be a little shaken up after his husband points a gun to his head. Not Yuuma. This was actually a pretty common occurrence with Piko, though he couldn't say he blamed him.

Piko came running back clumsily, his crooked gait unchanged over two years. "I didn't leave the gun." He panted, patting his hip. Yuuma rolled his eyes.

After about two hours, they found themselves sharing the weight of the massive sail and carrying it onto the ship. Yuuma demonstrated how to attach one side, then had Piko attach the other.

"It stays down until we're ready to leave- you don't want it trying to escape." He chuckled a bit, rolling his shoulders back.

"There's an anchor." Piko shrugged. "Speaking of which- wanna bolt down the…stuff?"

Now that they had attached the sail, the sky was turning orange and pink.

"Maybe just the doors- sun's going down." Piko nodded in agreement and quickly located a screwdriver and a box of screws, then followed Yuuma to the first doorway in sight. Yuuma ended up having to hold up the doors while telling Piko how to attach the hinges. By the time they were done, half of the sun has disappeared behind the infinite blue waves.

Piko decided to stay down on the beach and swim until the sun completely set. He wasted no time splashing into the water, disappearing beneath the surface. Yuuma sat on a rockbed, watching Piko break surface, look around frantically, then dive under again. _Hunting_ , Yuuma thought, cracking a smile and running his fingers over his collarbone.

" _A 'wed-ding ring'..?" Piko mused, turning his hand over and over to observe the jewelry and how light fell across it._

" _It's something we- ah, humans that is- wear so that others know we're married- connected- to someone."_

" _Like a mate's scale." Piko chimed, apparently understanding._

" _A what?" Yuuma looked to Piko's eyes, only to find them fixated on the ring. The siren spoke just loud enough to be heard over the crashing waves._

" _Whenever a pair of merpeople or sirens become mates, they'll each imbed one of their scales in the other- for sirens its usually somewhere where scales aren't already present so that others can see it clearly, like showing it off." He laughed softly, looking up at Yuuma. "But merpeople don't have to worry about that because they don't have 'armour' and wings like sirens do."_

" _What do you mean by imbed? How do you do that- and, why?" Yuuma asked curiously._

" _Well, why do humans wear rings? The scale is a part of the siren's partner that will always be with them- and it shows others that they're taken because its normally a different colour. So it stands out- like, if one of my black scales were on someone with blue scales, itd be really obvious."_

" _Well… could it be done on.. Like- me? A human, I mean, is that possible?" Yuuma watched as Piko furrowed his brows slightly, his platinum eyebrows crossing into the black mask, which was fading to grey as the wind dried Piko's face._

" _Maybe?" He finally answered, unsure. "A lot of sirens mate with humans, they just end up exiled."_

 _Yuuma thought for a moment, wondering what the risks were. He messed with the ring attached to the thin chain around his neck. "Why don't we try it?" He suggested with a nervous smile._

" _Really? Are you sure?" Piko looked both excited and worried. "It- um.. It'll probably be a little painful. It depends on your tolerance."_

" _Piko, I think after…" he paused, feeling a chill up his spine. "I think I've got a bit of a tolerance for pain by now. Besides, a wedding ring goes on the left hand- so I think the scale would be a closer link."_

 _Piko nodded and ran his hand through the seafoam, quickly plucking a scale from his palm before it could retract into his flesh again. He noticed how the webbing between his fingers was no longer present between his middle and little finger, due to the ring's interference. He smiled a bit._

" _Um.. You already have a scar here on your collarbone.. It should be a little less sensitive because the skin is tough. Would here be alright?"_

 _Yuuma nodded, catching Piko's lips to confirm his decision._

Piko wasn't kidding. As Yuuma would say, it hurt like a bitch. He chuckled softly to himself, tracing circles around the scale.

"Yuuma!" Piko yelled from a good thirty feet out. "Come swim!" He then disappeared under the water again. Yuuma smiled and pulled off his shirt, jumping into the water.

 _(_ **A/N:** _Alrighty well.. My tablet doesn't tell me how many pages I've typed. It looks SUPER long to me, but it might actually be short. I don't know. Sorry if it's 5 pages or 25 pages compared to the usual 10._

 _Also, no, Piko doesn't have bird wings. I meant the paper like fins attached to his arms, to help him cut through water. Remember guys, in his siren form, Piko isn't beautiful or cutesy anymore. He's dark, sirens are from the colder, darker waters and are designed to fight, battle, kill, and hunt. I felt like I had to clarify this because someone read over my shoulder as I typed, and asked if Piko was a dragon…_

 _Now, onward to chapter three- From the Flames of Hell!_ **)**


	4. From The Flames of Hell!

**Disclaimer! I own none of Vocaloid, or any of its characters. They belong to their respective owners.**

 **(A/N:** _One note of this chapter. Remember how the previous chapter took place on Wednesday? It's Wednesday again in this chapter. So don't get confused when things repeat. Also, this chapter might fall a little short…._ **)**

 **-** _ **White Lullaby**_ **-**

 _ **-From the Flames of Hell**_ **-**

 _Found you._

That was the first thought through his mind as Piko scrambled on the ground, frantically chasing rollaway fruits.

He felt that he needed a second look to guarantee- as if the white hair and unnaturally harmonic voice weren't enough. Mikuo knelt and picked up a few of the fruits, glancing over Piko's mismatched eyes. He scowled as his gaze drifted from Piko's eyes to the gun in his belt. He stood and roughly dropped the pears into Piko's hand, quickly leaving the scene to discuss a plan of action with his henchmen.

As he walked, a memory emerged from its grave in the back of Mikuo's mind.

 _Two guns, aimed and ready to fire. Mikuo watched his opponent with a satisfied smirk._ _ **How pathetic.**_ _Even after seven years of burning hatred and a desire for vengeance, Captain Hiroshi-Yuuma of the Compass Rose still didn't have it in him to shoot._

 _Mikuo looked around at the scene that he was such a huge part of. Both of his own men were dead. One of Yuuma's were on the wooden deck between them, being slowly surrounded by a pool of blood. The other sibling was standing off to the side, at an equal distance between Yuuma and Mikuo, screaming with cowardly tears flowing down his filthy cheeks. He was out of ammo. Yuuma stared intently at Mikuo, his face pale and his shaking hand holding the gun he'd previously been trying to repair._

 _And the demon. The demon stood behind Yuuma, watching on with wide eyes and fear laced into his expression. The moment that lasted only a few seconds seemed to drag on for hours, and Mikuo was tired of waiting. As he locked his aim onto Yuuma's chest, a movement nearby caught his attention. The siren had drawn Yuuma's gun- Hiroshi's gun, the gun that had killed Captain Hatsune. He fired in the same instant, without an ounce of hesitation. Suddenly everything was happening at one time._

 _Piko had taken a tight hold to Yuuma's wrist and was dragging him at full speed away from the battle. The purple haired one, Taito, was running in the opposite direction- seemingly toward Mikuo but then passing him. Mikuo turned just in time to face a merciless explosion of howling flames and sparkling embers of splintered wood and gunpowder particles._

 _He was blown off his feet and away from the explosion by at least two yards. It felt as if his face were disintegrating, as well as most of the rest of his body. He yelled in pain and forced himself to his feet, finding himself surrounded by a maze of flaming walls as he quickly tried to extinguish his burning flesh and clothes. With a fierce, enraged growl, he turned in the direction that Yuuma and his siren had escaped. He would kill Yuuma, he swore. He would kill Yuuma even if it meant killing himself in the process._

 _As he strode toward the enemy, he heard desperate wailing and sobbing. Looking off to his left he saw Taito, cradling his dead brother and screaming over the sound of crackling flames. Mikuo rolled his eyes and decided to disregard him as he continued to walk by._

 _As Mikuo passed, Taito's head whipped around to glare at him, his eyes seemingly glowing red from the reflection of the fire around him. Arming himself with Kaito's sword, he ran at Mikuo with a vicious battle cry. Mikuo turned just in time to block Taito's swinging blade._

 _No words were exchanged as Taito, fueled by anger, repeatedly slammed his brother's sword against Mikuo's. Mikuo moved swiftly to avoid and block each attack, surprised to find himself being backed toward a wall of roaring flames. Finally Taito swung his blade high, slicing a near-perfect line from Mikuo's right cheek to the left- a horizontal version of the wound Yohio had obtained from his own sword._

 _Mikuo again snarled in pain, stumbling backward into the fire and howling upon the contact. He righted himself and gathered his senses just in time to see Taito make his escape, dancing around the flames and debris as the ship started to groan, the force of the waves and the fire working together to split her in half. Deciding he'd deal with the younger male later, Mikuo continued on his path toward Yuuma._

Mikuo gave his usual scowl as his neatly gloved hand traced the smooth scar across his face, nearly hidden behind the rough burn scars that covered most of him. He scrunched his nose and cringed when he remembered that the glove he was groping his face with had just previously been in contact with dirt from picking up fruit. He cleaned his glove off on the back of his pants before he could absentmindedly contaminate himself again.

Upon arriving to the camp that had been set up on the ocean shore furthest from the small town and the locals living there, Mikuo noticed that his henchmen were missing.

 _Dumbasses,_ he thought. _I told them to stay put._

The little slaves knew their task; capture the siren and bring him to Mikuo, alive; and any other time Mikuo would expect them to get the job done. The only problem was that Piko was armed, and so were his boys. A gunfight was bound to commence and somebody would end up dead. _Most likely the siren. I need him_ _ **alive**_ _._

Of course it'd be Piko to die against Len and Oliver. The two may have been only sixteen and seventeen years old- which was relatively close to Piko's age, from what Mikuo could tell- but they were quick, clever, sneaky, and merciless. Sometimes Mikuo laughed at himself for having _children_ as his right-hand-men, but would then remind himself of how they got there in the first place.

 _He continued to walk along, pretending not to notice the persistent feeling that someone was watching him. As a pirate, he'd learned not to ignore it- to simply pretend it's not there until the suspect clumsily revealed himself. Then shoot. In this quiet European town, the dead night broken by only the occasional candle in the windowsill, Mikuo stalked along the cobblestone streets, taking inventory and memorizing the town's twists and turns. He and his crew would attack tomorrow morning, and Mikuo would know each individual spot to raid in order to leave with anything decent._

 _But now, as he should have been heading back toward his ship, he lead himself and his stalkers deeper into the developing city, where they'd be exposed by moonlight streaking between buildings. Every now and then he'd come to a complete stop and listen for whispers, shallow breaths or light footsteps._

 _The night was silent._

 _That didn't matter though. Mikuo knew exactly how to lure his predator; or maybe, his prey; out of the shadows. He abruptly turned down a dark path between a towering church and some sort of clothing store. The alley was long, appearing to be a dead end, but Mikuo had taken this path earlier. At the end of this alleyway was an opening to the left; and at the end of that path was a right turn. It'd take Mikuo right back out to the streets, where he had a clear run straight to his escape._

 _He continued down the first section of the alley, his leather-covered hands reaching into his long coat. There were people sleeping throughout the town, and policemen on watch every couple of blocks, so Mikuo knew it'd be most unwise to utilize his gun in this situation. Instead his hand tightened around his recently sharpened sword- which had previously been damaged from his intense battle on the Compass Rose. At the end of the stretch, he flattened himself against the back of the next building, mimicking being trapped at a dead-end. His eyes scanned over the path he'd just walked but there were no signs of life, save for hideous rats lurking around in search of discarded leftovers._

 _Raising a brow in suspicion, he glanced to his left and quickly observed the next path, which was shorter than the first. It was clear as well._ _ **Damn,**_ _he thought._ _ **Smarter than the average street thug, are you, now?**_

 _Mikuo slowly peeled himself off the brick wall and started down the left path, checking his front and back as he walked. It wasn't until he rounded the next corner that the suspect dropped from a low roof above. Mikuo hardly had time to note that his opponent was a child before the said boy drew a sword._

 _Mikuo drew his own to block the first swing, surprised by the amount of strength in the kid. Clashing blades hissed as they fought for dominance, twisting and turning in swift motions with aim to better the other. Yet, it seemed like child's play. This had to be some kind of diversion, Mikuo was sure. There was no way that this little boy in a sailor-style trench coat could be his actual opponent. He managed to throw the sword from Oliver's hand and deliver a sharp blow to his leg._

 _The brat was down. Mikuo huffed through his nose at what a failed combat that was and turned to retrace his path and leave the alley. When he turned he was faced by a second lboy, who wore a deadly glare and held a six-inch blade in each thickly gloved hand._

" _Shouldn't you kids be at home, asleep?" Mikuo asked sarcastically, being not particularly thrilled about another kiddy-fight. But the response to the question was the second blond lunging forward, his arms whipping into position for his attack. Reacting quickly, Mikuo dropped his sword and tightly grasped the boy's wrists. He yanked the kid toward him and swung his leg, his knee colliding with the attacker's stomach before a second kick sent him to the ground._

" _You idiot!" Oliver snarled at his partner, grabbing his sword and running at Mikuo a second time. Mikuo quickly crouched to dodge the attack. As he sprung to his feet again, his free hand grabbed Oliver's forearm, twisting violently and pinning it behind his back. Oliver cried out and dropped his weapon, which was the only thing between himself and Mikuo._

 _Taking a millisecond to note his position, Oliver jumped with all the force he could manage, the crown of his head connecting with Mikuo's chin sharply and causing a crunching sound to come from Mikuo's mouth._

 _Annoyed, Mikuo moved his hand to the back of Oliver's head and shoved him forward, his pale face connecting with the closest wall before he was jerked back and slammed into the wall again. Blood trickled from somewhere around his forehead and he felt as if he were spinning, hardly catching himself against the wall as Mikuo released him._

 _Through blurry eyes he watched as Len delivered a series of high-kicks to Mikuo's chest, finishing the choreographed attack with a roundhouse kick that caught Mikuo's scarred face. During the two seconds while Mikuo was recovering, Len bounced back swiftly to give a bit of clearance between himself and the opponent. He rebalanced himself and quickly adjusted each glove before closing the distance again, one fist hiding his face as the other made the first strike._

 _His punches were hard, the connection with Mikuo's eye causing him to see a brief fireworks display. The next fist that came toward him was caught between both of Mikuo's hands, only inches from his face. He twisted Len's arm backwards with one hand and brought the other elbow down near the wrist, hearing a stomach turning 'crack'._

 _It was Len's turn to scream as he tapped out of the fight, cueing Oliver into action again. He relocated his sword and swung it at Mikuo, who ducked to avoid being decapitated. While he was down he grasped his own sword, swinging it on his way back into a fighting stance. The sword fight continued for what felt like five full minutes, although it was probably only around a minute and a half, before Mikuo finally made his cheap move of slicing over Oliver's wrist, causing him to drop his sword. Oliver's hand immediately dipped behind his coat, pulling a gun. In the same second, a heavy weight fell on Mikuo's back and thin but determined legs wrapped around his arms and his waist, pinning his arms down at his side. The tip of a six inch blade was pressing into each side of Mikuo's neck, barely starting to draw blood._

 _Panting and out of breath with his gun to Mikuo's chin, Oliver finally spoke up._

" _I'm not in the mood to feel you up, so make it easy and just tell me which pocket your money is in." Oliver kept a stern glare at Mikuo's face, hardly glancing away to check his partner's injuries._

 _After a moment of silence, a smirk played across Mikuo's lips. "I haven't got a crumb on me, boys," Mikuo said honestly. "But how about something better?"_

Finally, after nearly thirty minutes of pacing the red-orange mixture of shell remnance and sand, Len and Oliver snuck out of the nearby shrubs and palmettos, brushing leaves and twigs off their clothes.

"About time you showed up!" Mikuo snapped, storming over to the pair. "What did you find out?"

"Yuuma's basically just boring as shit," Len complained, and Oliver elbowed him harshly.

"Yuuma worked on their new ship while Piko was gone. It doesn't seem fit for battle but it does hold weapons, including cannons." Oliver reported sophisticatedly. "Yuuma doesn't appear to keep himself armed, but Piko does and is quick to fire."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Yuuma showing up and a squirrel taking our blame, we probably would've come back as swiss cheese!" Len laughed childishly.

"Bullshit, Len!" Oliver barked. "That kid doesn't have shit on us!"

" _Nevermind that,_ " Mikuo groaned. "Where are they now?"

"They went to find a sail," Len informed.

"Good," Mikuo huffed. "We need to come up with a way to get that siren. If we just grab him, he'll scream and we'll be dead. I want it alive, so shooting is out of the question."

"You can't just expect him to walk on the ship! And that stupid Yuuma is just gonna be in the way anyway!" Oliver sighed, rolling his eyes.

"We'll think of something. In the meantime, Len, go keep watch and let me know when they're back."

"Yes sir."

"Maybe if we kill off Yuuma, the siren will feel like it has nothing to live for and it'll come with us," Oliver suggested.

"That's your dumbest idea yet," Mikuo groaned, tossing the supplies Oliver had stolen, miraculously without getting caught, into the small lifeboat. Far off on the waters, Cryptonite, Mikuo's new battleship, was bobbing on the waves. After the flames had leapt from the Compass Rose to the Crypton and destroyed the grand ship, Mikuo and his crew had quickly reconstructed a replica, save for a few adjustments to make her better fit for extreme battles. "Even if it were to come with us after that, it'll just try to kill us for it. Somehow, we have to make it _want_ to be on the ship."

Oliver thought for a moment. "Well, Len and I met Piko a long time ago, back at the orphanage. Maybe we can play the 'Long time, no see' act and convince him to come with us to catch up." Oliver smirked. This was _foolproof._ "By the time he figures out what's really going on, he'll already be in a cell!" The blonde laughed, almost maniacally. Something about this kid scared Mikuo, ever so slightly, and that's coming from a pirate.

"That could work…"

"They're back!" Len interrupted, running across the sand to his Captain and friend. "They were working on the ship when I left, I tried to hurry. Maybe if they're still there, we can corner them on the ship and give them no choice but to come with us or be killed! "

"They're probably back home by now, Len, it's an hour and thirty minutes' walk." Oliver informed unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, but it's only an hour and ten minutes' run!" He panted, doubled over as both Oliver and Mikuo rolled their eyes.

"Big difference," Mikuo grumbled sarcastically, dusting himself off. "Let's go."

Really the henchmen were almost polar opposites. Oliver, the younger one, walked with his head high and his hand always on either a gun or a sword. He was professional and thorough about everything he did- but he wasn't quick on making plans.

Len was more childish, smiling way too much for a pirate. He usually didn't seem to know what he was doing, but Mikuo knew he did. Len could devise a full scheme in a matter of seconds, and followed orders with exact precision and timeliness.

Together they reminded Mikuo of Luki and Yohio, only surprisingly better. Unlike his deceased mates, Oliver and Len followed orders without question or hesitation, no matter how ridiculous or extreme.

Finally they arrived to the ocean shore at the other side of the island, where a tall ship glared down at them.

"You two, go check out the ship and see if they're still there," Mikuo ordered. "I'm going to check out their place, maybe it'll be easier to catch them there."

With a nod, the three parted way. Oliver went straight for the most obvious entrance to the ship, while Len headed to the seemingly useless steps at the stern. If anyone was onboard, they'd be blocked at both ends.

Mikuo started up a worn dirt path, following it right to what he assumed was Piko and Yuuma's doorstep. _That was easy,_ he thought, rolling his eyes. Cautiously, he listened by the door before easing it open, peering inside for a moment, then entering the small home. He looked around. The place was tiny, smaller than the cargo hold in his ship. Stepping silently through the place, he found his way to the bedroom. The door was open, and there didn't seem to be anyone inside. He stepped in, scanning for weapons, easy entrance and escape routes, and taking in the details of the house. As he looked around he tried to devise a plan, the only problem being that he wasn't sure who the were after, or how.

Glancing at the desk, he noticed a hunk of silvery metal tucked in the corner. Curiously, he grasped it, looking over its features. Small crevices of engraved designs were stained black. Other details had melted and deformed. Parts were worn from a combination of being handled for too long or too roughly. It had rough scratches here and there, and a slight dent on the edge. Finally turning it over Mikuo discovered a familiar symbol. _Yuuma's Jolly-Roger…_ The last time he'd seen it, it was being torn down and devoured by flames. With a crooked smirk and a breathy chuckle, Mikuo stuck it into his pocket and made his leave.

"They're not on the ship," Len reported in a hushed voice.

"They aren't at the house either," Mikuo confirmed, wondering where they might have been now.

"Found them!" Oliver whispered victoriously from his pedestal made of a large boulder sticking out of the ground. He folded up his spyglass and hopped down. "They're on the beach!" He rushed to another series of boulders lining the ocean shore, followed by Mikuo and Len. They were only a few meters away from Yuuma now, able to see him yet hidden from his sight.

"Where's the demon?" Mikuo asked quietly but just as harshly as always.

"Swimming," Oliver said with a twisted grin. That meant Yuuma was alone, and the siren wouldn't find out soon enough because he was under water.

"We'll capture Yuuma," Mikuo decided.

"Then Piko will have to give himself up in exchange!" Len cackled, realizing he devilish scheme.

"How?" Oliver asked, directing his question at Len. Len looked over the scene and quickly began creating his strategy.

"First-"

"Yuuma! Come swim!" The siren's voice called. The trio ducked behind the rocks to avoid being seen. When they looked up again, Yuuma was standing. He tossed his shirt onto the sand and dove from the rocks, swimming out to sea.

 _ **(A/N:**_ _I feel like there was something I needed to say but I can't remember what now… So… Yeah! How about that? Apparently Taito is alive? And the two cute little orphan boys from Compass Rose have become murderous little psychopaths from the streets of Europe! At the moment, I don't have a name for the next chapter! So, you don't get anything off which to base your guesses of what's to come! Sorry guys! Until next time; you know the drill! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Just remember not to give any spoilers! Love y'all!_

 _OH I REMEMBERED JUST NOW. I WAS GOING TO ADVERTISE MY LEX X PIKO CHRISTMAS FIC TITLED 'SNOW ANGEL'. IT'S BEING POSTED ON I THINK THE 22ND SO IF YOU WANT THE HEADS UP JUST MESSAGE ME AND I'LL NOTIFY YOU WHEN IT'S POSTED!)_


	5. Into the Fire Again!

**Disclaimer! I own none of Vocaloid, or any of its characters. They belong to their respective owners.**

 **(A/N:** _Okay this is a long note because this chapter ends in a mood I don't want to break. Just, read it guys, please. 1; I know, in Compass, Piko was like, 194 or something. In chapter one here, he was like 187. Here, he's 164. HE'S NOT AGING BACKWARDS haha. I just put the wrong number in chapter one, and i don't really know how to get back to it and change it. There's a character who will come in soon and explain a bit more about sirens- Piko doesn't know much because he was exiled at birth, remember? ALRIGHT, 2; I know I'm all like "careful with spoilers in the reviews" but I'm tired of removing them, so if you want to comment on something 'big' just put a spoiler warning for other readers, please. Guys I love reviews, really, I'm constantly talking to Felix about this story because I_ _ **love**_ _my readers' input on it. It lets me know if I'm causing the effect I'm trying to, and it inspires future stories and chapters._

 _I really dread this chapter, for a few reasons. Here we go!_ _ **)**_ _  
_

 **-** _ **White Lullaby-**_

 _ **-Into The Fire Again!-**_

 _Gypsies…_

Piko frowned, stretching with his back to Yuuma, the other's arm lazily rested on Piko's waist. He slowly turned over onto his back, looking up at the ceiling and lightly squeezing Yuuma's hand, as if letting him know he hadn't left. Piko smiled as he listened to Yuuma's slow breaths.

 _A gypsy is.. a nomadic person, I think. A nomad- that's just a fancy way of calling someone a wanderer. Someone who doesn't stay in one place. But the ship is one place.. It's just a place that…. goes to other places?_ Piko sighed, frowning a bit in frustration. _It's not as if we don't have a home, or the other necessities for living. We have all those things on the ship; rather, we will when we're done. It's just like a house, it just floats on water. At least we'd actually have more of a chance at living through a flood._

… _That was a bit mean…_

The siren shook his head, trying to change the topic of solitary conversation.

 _Sirens move from ocean to ocean, even abysses, and they take good care of their packs… as long as… their pack members aren't unordinary…_

Okay, that finished that thought.

He sighed softly, looking over toward his husband as he groaned in his sleep. Piko smiled and curled up closer to him, kissing Yuuma's scowling lips.

The contact woke Yuuma up but he avoided opening his eyes. Instead he resorted for tightening his arm around Piko's waist, pulling him even closer as his scowl split into a tired smile. The siren grinned and pecked Yuuma's lips again, his hand tracing the lines and edges of both muscles and scars on Yuuma's chest.

Yuuma finally cracked a golden eye open, looking straight into green. He took a second to take in Piko's face, which was mostly hidden behind messy white hair. One cheek was squished against his arm, causing his mouth to ever so beautifully look like that of a fish. His lips were thin and blacker than night, the teeth behind them razor sharp.

"Did you go swimming?" Yuuma asked groggily. His stomach dropped when Piko shook his head to say 'no'. He knew what that meant.

Over the past two years of living on land, Piko had learned how to store salt water and bring it back up later when he needed his teeth or, in this case, his tongue.

Before Yuuma could scramble out of the bed and far, far away from his oceanic mate, Piko brought himself to his hands and knees above Yuuma's body, placing his hands on his husband's shoulders to pin him down.

"No, no!" Yuuma shouted, his hand pushing against Piko's chest in an attempt to keep him away. "Don't you fucking do it, Piko, I swear I'll fucking kill y- _agh!_ " He brought a leg up and used his foot to shove Piko away from him, then launched from the bed and toward the door. "I'm not awake enough for this!" He complained, ducking behind some bushes. He could hear Piko giggling from inside.

Piko had come up with what he called a game and what Yuuma considered torture. The siren would wait until Yuuma was least expecting it, then lick him with his long, black, slimy tongue. After the first few times he found that Yuuma's ear was most sensitive to the attacks. Yuuma knew Piko was just playing and having fun, but that didn't make the feeling of an "ocean monster's" tongue in his ear any less disgusting.

He peered through branches and leaves, watching the door so he could be prepared to run if Piko was still after him. He couldn't help but smile at his mate's silliness, but the smile quickly faded when he noticed that Piko's laughter had silenced. Slowly and silently, Yuuma stepped backward until he was just one more step from the corner of their tiny house. Exhaling inaudibly, he spun on his heels just as the siren leapt around the corner at him. Yuuma caught Piko by hooking his arm around his waist and allowed their momentum to keep them spinning until he could pin the smaller male against the wall.

With the force of it all, he could hear Piko swallow his collection of water before he exploded with laughter and tried to push Yuuma away.

"You're so annoying," Yuuma complained before pressing his lips to Piko's still transformed ones. Piko huffed through his nose to mock laughter as he returned the kiss, considering teasing Yuuma by adding his carnivorous tongue to the mix, but remembering that last time he did, Yuuma almost threw up. The siren hummed softly as the kiss was broken and Yuuma took his hand. "How long have you been up?" He asked, leaning against the wall and looking at the sun that was taking its place high above them.

"Not very long," Piko answered, looking down at both pairs of bare feet. He wiggled his toes a little before lightly stepping on Yuuma's foot to playfully aggravate him. "I brought the water in and I boiled some to use today. I washed some clothes and stuff, they're out in the sun to dry, and I went and cleaned up some of the mess on the ship. All that's left is to stock it with supplies and food." He smiled up at Yuuma, his hands instinctively moving to gently brush the messy pink hair to the side.

"Not very long?" Yuuma teased with a tone of doubt. He looked off to what he could see of the ship, which, from their location, wasn't much.

"A few hours," Piko admitted, nervously scratching the back of his head. "I couldn't go back to sleep and I was bored, I didn't want to wake you up so I just kept myself occupied by doing chores."

"I don't mind you waking me up," Yuuma said quietly, pushing Piko's fringe back with a rough, callused hand and kissing his head as he walked past. Piko smiled and turned to follow him toward the ship, quickly catching up to him. He observed the lights and shadows that danced over Yuuma's naked torso filling the jagged shapes of scars in even the most absurd places, all of which Piko knew the story of and some that he was _part_ of.

Some of the scars were achieved in battle- whether it were with an enemy of Yuuma's or his own comrades. Others were simply from living; scars from accidents as a child and accidents while drunk and showing off. One of the largest scars, Piko learned, was from nothing other than a dining table. Yuuma had consumed his own weight in liquor, or at least that's what he'd told Piko, and was convinced he could do a flip off the end of the table. He probably could have, if he didn't fall before he even jumped.

Piko giggled softly, imagining the sight of it. How Kaito must've held his head in his palm and turned his face, embarrassed of his best friend and adoptive brother. Taito was sure to have laughed with his nose scrunched up and a dirty hand hiding his mouth- and just as dramatically he may have panicked when he noticed blood. Piko could only imagine how high and mighty Yuuma attempted to act even with a gruesome injury and a humiliating memory on his back.

Piko happily followed Yuuma onto the ship, gazing off the bow while Yuuma walked around, pushing against furniture and doors to make sure they were secure. "Looks like you did really well," Yuuma smiled.

"Yeah," the siren mumbled blankly, smiling softly as he watched children splash into the shallow waves. They chased after water fleas and minnows while the nuns sat in the sand, watching with their eyes like hawks. "I wanna go over there."

Yuuma joined him, following his gaze and giving a sigh. "You can't, that's too troublesome." He replied with a frown.

"Why not?" Piko whined, not even turning to face the other. "I mean, look! Aizan doesn't know how to swim; he looks so sad sitting there!" he watched the child sympathetically. "I could teach him easily-"

"How easy do you really think that is?" Yuuma hissed, his tone dragging Piko back into reality. "Tell me, it must very simple, after all, for you to explain to those nuns that you're a siren. I'm sure they'll happily allow a monster like you to-"

Yuuma was cut off by an enraged yelp from Piko and a pale hand across his cheek. He was pretty sure that the shape of Piko's ring was displayed there as he watched the siren storm off. When his head stopped spinning from the frequency of Piko's voice, Yuuma ran to catch up to him. "I didn't mean it like _that_ ," he sighed, grabbing Piko's wrist to stop him. The only response Yuuma got was a splash of lukewarm salt water in his face. Thankfully, living on the ocean his whole life, the salt in his eyes didn't hurt so bad.

"Really, Piko?" He sighed, releasing the albino to dry his face. "How immature of you." He scrunched his nose up a bit, remembering that the water had come from somewhere in Piko's stomach. Disgusting.

Yuuma followed Piko off the ship and into their home, where the siren tried to close his husband outside. "Would you quit it?!" Yuuma snapped, kicking the door before it could close and lock. Piko gave a pained grunt as he fell to the floor, hiding his eyes with the back of his arm. After closing the door Yuuma knelt down to be at Piko's level, stroking his hair slowly. "When did you become so sensitive," he halfway teased, gently pulling Piko's arm away from his face. His bright eyes were glossed over with tears. "Really, back then you wouldn't have blinked an eye at a comment like that. You know I don't think of you like that, don't you?" Yuuma stood and offered Piko a hand to pull him to his feet. "I was just putting it how other people would see it."

Piko nodded slowly, laying a wet cheek on Yuuma's shoulders and wrapping his arms around him. "I hate it so much…" he whined quietly, absently rubbing his face on Yuuma's shoulder to dry his eyes.

Yuuma gently shushed the crying siren. "You shouldn't hate it, Piko," he whispered. "I don't hate it at all, you're so much better than boring _humans_."

Piko rubbed at his eyes and looked up at Yuuma, trying to stop his trembling. "How is that?" he tested, casually slipping his long, blackish tongue out of the corner of his matching lips to catch a stray tear. Yuuma cringed- he'd never get used to it.

"Well, for one, most of us look the same- and then look at you." Yuuma smiled nervously. At this, Piko consciously pulled his tongue into his mouth again and closed his lips, trying to dry his face on his shirt instead. "You're a lot different,"

"I'd become a walking freak show if anyone out there saw me," Piko muttered, motioning blindly toward the door.

"Well… I suppose, but at least you're not bound to land. A lot of people don't even know how to swim, you're born knowing."

"You know how to swim just fine," Piko noted quietly.

"I do, sure, but Kaito used to panic if he was out of reach of something to hold himself up- he could swim if he wasn't so freaked out." Piko raised a brow.

"Kaito was actually _scared_ of drowning?"

"Kaito was scared of a lot of things, he just never let it show because Taito was worse than him. Taito couldn't swim at all, he sunk like a rock. He was scared of water for a long time, and when we finally managed to get him to come out with us- he was holding onto a life-preserver for dear life."

Piko laughed quietly, picturing his friend white knuckled as he clung to the flotation device. "I miss them," he whispered, pushing his hair back as it tried to stick to his damp face.

"I miss them too." Yuuma sighed quietly, helping Piko up. "It's gonna be a lot different- living on a ship by ourselves and the rest of it actually quiet."

Piko listened to his husband's voice, quickly seizing the opportunity he exposed.

"Well, maybe it doesn't have to be just the two of us," He suggested, focusing his attention on the scale halfway under Yuuma's skin.

 _This again._ Yuuma thought, rolling his eyes while Piko wasn't paying attention.

"Piko, haven't you ever just sat down and thought, _'maybe adopting a child isn't such a great idea'_?"

"What makes you think that?" Piko asked, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Think about it," Yuuma whispered, following and pressing a kiss on Piko's head. "For one thing you're basically what, sixteen?" Yuuma knew he wasn't getting at a good point there- many parents were even younger than that. "It may be old enough as a parent to your own kid but you're talking about adopting a child that's nothing like you and is already what, six? Seven?"

"I'm not sixteen, Yuuma, that's just what age I look!" Piko countered falling back on the bed. "I'm like, one hundred and sixty-four! Don't you think that's _plenty_ old enough?"

"And is that what you're going to tell the nuns, too?"

"No, Yuuma!" Piko groaned loudly, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. Yuuma caught it against his chest, setting it down on the bed and awkwardly lowering himself on his stomach, so that the pillow was under his chest. With the fraction of his left arm he held the pillow in place while his right arm reached out to Piko.

"Alright, assume we adopted a kid then." Yuuma started. Piko turned his head to give Yuuma his attention. "How do you think this child is gonna react to you being a siren?"

"Sometimes at the orphanage I tell them stories that the mermaids told me- about other mermaids falling in love with humans and cutting their tails so they could learn to use them as legs and walk and be with the one they love."

Yuuma stared for a moment. "That's a little gruesome to tell little kids, don't you think?"

"The girls like that story but the boys just like hearing about sirens and how they're fighters and stuff." Piko shrugged. "Except Max and Mavis, they liked the mermaid stories more. And Lily doesn't like stories. Lily likes to dance."

Yuuma tried to put faces to the names but couldn't. He hadn't been to the orphanage lately. "But you're talking about stories." He said simply. "I heard siren stories too, from Kaito. But I expected them to be less.. Scary."

"Do you think I'm scary?"

"No, but I'm not a six year old orphan raised by the church."

Piko frowned. "Well.. Maybe I'll just have to show the kids my other form before we leave here."

Yuuma resisted the dying need to correct Piko and let him know there would only be one child, if any.

"And then there's that, too. _Leaving._ " Piko furrowed his eyebrows as Yuuma started his next problem. "Most people can't really jump from land to sea as easily as we can. Especially not kids."

"Why? What happens?" Piko was a little more defensive about this one. Mother Dianna had said something about it too. _Gypsies._

"They'll get sick. From the wave rocking the ship back and forth, from the mist and breeze, from all the salt." Yuuma tried to think back to Kaito and Taito's experience when they first boarded.

"You don't get sick," Piko informed, sitting up.

"That's because I was _born_ on that ship. It didn't affect me because that's how I was raised. Instead I'm affected here." That was true. Yuuma didn't really sleep well in their room that didn't occasionally tilt to one side or the other, and he couldn't take a new path anywhere too far without getting lost. He often got confused about where things would disappear to because shelves were apparently not often used on his ship. Each time Piko utilized them he was rewarded with an entertaining tantrum from Yuuma, who only looked to the floor for his belongings.

"That makes sense.." Piko muttered, curling his legs up and hugging them to his chest. Yuuma sat up to be able to meet his eyes.

"Besides," he started. "We're both men- the church isn't really about that. It's more of a 'mother _and_ a father' kind of thing, not 'two of a kind.' They probably wouldn't let us adopt anyway."

"Isn't two fathers better than no parents at all?" Piko asked softly, sounding defeated. He sighed and laid his head down on his knees, hiding his face. Yuuma frowned. He hated seeing Piko like this. Maybe bringing a child along with them wasn't his own preference, but Piko was apparently serious about it. What did he expect? Sirens _were_ one of those 'family bond' kind of species.

"Fine," Yuuma sighed. Piko quickly looked up at him. "We'll go talk to the nuns and see what we can do-"

"Yuuma th-!"

" _ **After**_ the ship is stocked, and we're ready to leave."

Nonetheless, Piko grinned and practically fell into Yuuma's embrace, hugging him tightly. "You're the best," he whimpered happily, his voice muffled against Yuuma's skin. Yuuma smiled softly and lightly stroked Piko's hair. If they managed to be approved for an adoption, he'd just have to come around to the idea of having a child onboard. It wasn't something he'd ever thought about before, but he didn't think it could be too bad. After all, his mother had raised himself and his two brothers without much help, and they turned out alright. Well, they were all sexually attracted to men and two were incest, but they were alright.

Before Yuuma could get too lost in memory of his family, Piko shifted against his chest, moving to sit on his lap. He looked down at Yuuma, both of his hands tracing around the male's face and pushing his hair back as he kissed him.

Yuuma eagerly kissed back, their tongues dancing together as Piko twisted locks of pink hair around his fingers. Piko was the one to break the kiss, moving to lightly peck Yuuma's temple. "Thank you so much," he mumbled quietly next to his ear, kissing along his jawline.

Yuuma sighed and traced up and down Piko's back, listening to his mate whisper 'thank yous' and 'I love yous' in his ear. Piko sighed quietly, resting his head on Yuuma's shoulder and trying not to let excitement come over him just yet. Like Yuuma said- there was no guarantee that they'd be allowed to adopt. He bit at his lip softly, listening to Yuuma's slow breaths.

There was silence for a while before Yuuma heard a strange, hiccuping sound. He raised a brow, but before he could ask Piko if something was wrong, he felt a long, gross, slimy tongue wiggle its way into his ear.

"Ew, fuck!" He shouted, shoving Piko away and trying to wipe the strange feeling away with the bed sheets. "You're so fucking disgusting, Piko, what the fuck," Yuuma ranted, scrunching his nose up. Piko had fallen off the bed and was on the floor, laughing childishly.

"I'm- I'm sorry!" He started, his words mangled by laughter. "I couldn't resist- you're so easy to mess with!" He burst into another fit of laughter while Yuuma threw the blankets down on top of him.

After another couple of minutes they had settled down again. Yuuma was sitting on the edge of the bed with Piko sprawled out across his lap.

"Wanna get drunk?" Piko finally offered, looking up at him. At the same time their faces were consumed by smirks. 'Getting drunk' normally meant 'which one of us can raise the most hell and not remember it in the morning.' Piko took the returned grin as a 'yes' and sat up. "Are you gonna come with me to get it?" he asked, slipping on a pair of sandals.

"No," Yuuma answered rather bluntly. "I still feel gross and sticky, I'm gonna wash up."

Piko gave a half frown but shrugged. "Alright, then." he muttered. "Well, I'll be back in a little bit."

They exchanged quiet farewells and Piko left toward the market stretch, while Yuuma walked out toward the sitting area. He dipped a washcloth into a pail of water and wiped the dried salt water off himself. Once he was sure he was clean he walked into the room to get some clothes on.

After a moment he stepped out again, buttoning the last few buttons of his shirt when he heard a click. He froze and looked up only to be greeted by a flood of painful, traumatic memories rushing through him.

A horrifically familiar smirk parted to bark an order. "Don't move," he said as two younger pirates approached from each side.

There it was, just like two years ago. Yuuma was face to face with Hatsune Mikuo. There was a gun aimed at his chest and he couldn't move.

Except this time Piko wasn't there to save him.

"Yuuma, I'm back!" Piko grinned, setting the basket full of cakes and wine down. He didn't see his mate anywhere and quietly crept to the room. He flattened himself to the wall and silenced his breathing before jumping through the doorway and giving a playful roar. "...Huh?" He raised a brow and looked around again, then behind him. Yuuma was no where.

"Maybe he's on the ship?" Piko thought out loud, walking back over to the basket and carrying it into the sitting room. Surely Yuuma would be back soon, so Piko decided to go ahead and decorate the coffee table with the wine bottles and danishes.

As he set the bottle down, he noticed a piece of paper on the corner of the table and picked it up to read it.

 _Don't worry, Siren, it's not him that I want- it's you. Turn yourself over peacefully and Yuuma will go free. Otherwise, I'll kill him off. Happy Hunting._

 _Captain Hatsune Mikuo_


End file.
